Case file · Folklore / legend
Mendaña's 'Islands of Solomon'
In 1568 Álvaro de Mendaña reached Santa Isabel; the islands were named after King Solomon in the hope they were the source of his gold, the biblical Ophir.
1568 CE · -8.10, 159.20 · status: official
The account
The Spanish found no gold and fought with islanders. The rumour of Solomon's riches kept the islands on maps and in imaginations, though Europeans could not find them again for two centuries.
The sceptical view
There was never evidence of gold mines; the name reflects Spanish legend and hope.